Via Prague

3

Wolfgang was in one of his moods. His 'Wolfgang' moods ... yeah ... What is a 'Wolfgang' mood? It's like this ... he'll send you a text saying 'Drop by man,' 'cuz he needs this or that, a gram usually. But then when you get there, if someone else is there, someone who's helping him with the business, or some chick he met, or if he just got some bad news, he'll treat you like you're a leech coming to bum off him again and give you the rush. Then later, he'll send you another text saying sorry, man I was just busy come on over ...
When I got there this afternoon I figured he needed a gram. He always keeps the outside doors locked, but you can see inside even though the doors are tinted glass. I forgot to tell you about the bar. Directly inside where the old lobby used to be Wolfgang constructed a bar and installed a few tables and a flat television screen on the wall for movies. The main screening room is down a wide set of stairs.
When I looked in he was cleaning up an there was this guy, a barman from the Blind Eye, sitting at one of the tables and Wolfgang is pretending he doesn't see me, ha! ha! It was cool ... I had my big headphones on and some Doors playing so I just stood in the foyer singing along with Jim Morrison 'Waiting For the Sun' real loud and waited while inside I could see Wolfgang annoyed and probably pretending he doesn't know me ha ha! Woo-hoo! 'Waiting for the sun! Waiting for the sun! Waiting for the sun! Waiting for you to -- come along! Waiting for you to -- hear my song!'
Jake was there too, sitting at Wolfgang's lap top, but he didn't look up. The guy from the Blind Eye knows me; a few weeks ago I was there (it's this bar in ŽIžkov that's popular with foreigners) trying to get rid of a couple of grams and this guy, Jeff, comes around from the bar and tells me to leave. 'Sorry, I like you and all,' Jeff says, 'But this is not an opium bar.' Right! As if he hasn't bought a few grams off me himself ha ha! It's the same with Wolfgang, and with a lot of people. When they want their weed you're their man, they're all like, 'What' up?' but any other time and they act like you're a criminal! Judging from their body language, I figured that Jeff was telling Wolfgang about what happened at the Blind Eye, my having to leave, and Wolfgang was probably telling him some shit about me. Oh well, that's the way it goes. Yeah! That's the way it goes, woo-hoo! "WAITING FOR THE SUN, WAITING FOR THE SUN, WAITING FOR THE SUN!' Just to irritate everybody, I began belting out as loud as I could.
After a few minutes, Wolfgang finally turned and saw me (I'd already knocked like three times) and he unlocked the door and let me in. He let me in out of embarrassment probably ha! ha!
Jeff said 'What's up?' and Jake asked how it was going. Wolfgang, who'd gone to his back office called 'Grubs- come on back, man.' So I went back and he was getting a 200-crown note out of his wallet. 'Just one,' he said. I had it ready and slipped the note in my wallet. 'Right,' Wolfgang said. 'Thanks. Sorry no time today. Got a meetings this afternoon. We'll meet up in a couple days, eh?' He sort of patted me on the shoulder in a friendly guilty way. 'Thanks again. So you're back in business?'
'Yeah,' I said.
'Good to hear. So anyway, man. Sorry, but we've got this opening coming up end of the month, I've still got a lot of shit to get done.'
I asked if I could use the toilet 'cuz I really had to go and he said sure. While I was washing my hands I could hear Wolfgang and Jeff talking. Wolfgang's got this really low, discreet voice but I've got good hearing. You've got to in this business, you get used to keeping your signal on high. Jeff was telling Wolfgang about what happened at the Blind Eye and Wolfgang was saying yeah, he knew all about it 'cuz I'd also had other problems, like at the Czech Inn where Wolfgang was trying to establish a connection with the management so that they would recommend the Reincarnation to guests and how my getting thrown out there was making him look bad and how I was getting thrown out everywhere and so he couldn't afford to be associated with me. 'Is he your friend?' I heard Jeff ask. Wolfgang, I could picture him, probably gave one of his flat stares. Then he said something like, 'I met him through Aiden. You know how it is around here. Every foreigner gets to know every other foreigner.'
'Oh, he's a nice guy and all,' the guy Jeff said. 'I mean he's not bad, it's just ...'
Then they got quiet 'cuz Wolfgang probably signaled that I was still in the bathroom. Yeah, he's a real discreet kind of guy, considerate. It doesn't bother me. Like I said, that's Wolfgang. 'Waiting for the Sun' ended and 'Love Her Madly' came on. I started singing that one real loud as I dried my hands. It's nice to sing in bathrooms. Your voice has a great echo. Yeah! 'DON'T YOU LOVE HER MADLY? DON'T YOU LOVER HER AS SHE'S WALKING OUT THE DOOR?'
When I came out, Wolfgang was wiping off the tables in the bar. He flashed me this irritated look (ha! ha!) and Jeff was talking about the Pub Crawl business and how it was getting tough 'cuz now there are so many people offering Pub Crawls that there was too much competition. 'In the center the people passing out the fliers, one guy I know said he went up to a tourist and offered a Pub Crawl flier and the tourist was like,' Get away, I've had 20 people offer me fliers in the last 20 minutes.'
'It's getting really bad,' Jeff was saying. 'Like one guy will say about the other operators, 'Oh, don't go with him, he's a thief, or they'll steal your wallet ... real dirty stuff. It's ruining it for everybody.' And Wolfgang was listening because he's thinking about offering brewery tours as well.
'One of the groups is suing another,' Jeff was saying. 'They say it's trademark violation, the other group using the term 'Pub Crawl.'
Jake, who was still at the lap top, turned and wanted to know how that could happen. 'I mean, are they also going to trademark the word 'beer?' Jeff and Wolfgang were both at a loss as to how it could happen, the lawsuit. Anyway, they were deep in that discussion, or at least seemed to be and I could see they didn't, or at least Wolfgang didn't, want to talk to me so I said 'Cheers' and Wolfgang went to let me out.
Then Jake asked about the archeology job.
'It's snowing,' I said. And it was true. The girl had just texted me, saying work was postponed until it melted. Which makes sense.
'Right then, man.' Wolfgang tipped me a wink, almost pushing me out the door. 'Thanks again. See you soon.'
I remember back in the DAY when we worked in the bars together, Wolfgang and me, and when he came out and worked on the farm in Budejvice we were really tight. Yeah man! The Old Daze! Woo-hoo! But anyway that's Wolfgang. He has these moods. You just got to get used to them.
Well, there's the 200 from Wolfgang, plus 600 from this morning, one of the Russian guys at the Pension Florida bought 3 grams. It's supposed to be cold tonight, like minus 2, so maybe I'll stay in with Maria and her cats. She's got Sky Sports, and they'll have a replay of the Cavs-Lakers game. Yeah! Go Cavs! Lebron! Maria. She's funny, she doesn't understand basketball but she likes to just sit and look at the players. 'Oo-La-La!' she says. 'Such big black men! SUPER-DEESCO!' Ha Ha! Maria. She's really crazy.